A Tale of Red and White, Book One: Korra
by The 19th Angel
Summary: Two Avatars, one Red, the other White. 10000 years ago, they were best friends. While the Red remained in the Spirit World to guard Vaatu's prison. The White, named Wan, left to bring balance to their world. Avatar Roku once said some friendships can transcend lifetimes. Can they remember the friendship they once had before his training by the Red Lotus brings the world to ruin?
1. Chapter 1

A Tale of Red and White

I don't own Avatar or any of it's chracters. I own only the Red Avatar.

Author's Note: Hello readers, it's the 19th Angel. I actually had the idea for this back when I saw the season 2 finale of AtLA. But, when I finally saw LoK the idea just seemed a lot easier to squeeze in there. So, here it is, I hope you like it.

So, even though this story's rating will probably reflect its content and atmosphere, this story is gonna be a fair bit more realistic/dark in it's content(as in I'm sure there is some sort of drug war and human trafficking going on in Republic City). Main pairings are undecided but the most likely for Bolin are either Boleska or Borra. For Korra, I'm feeling obviously Borra, or Korvira. I should go on record as saying I absolutely abhor MaKorra, I'm just not a fan of Mako in almost any respect, nothing personal. I'm not sure for pairings with Makko, for obvious reasons. Asami, I can't really go into for a few different reasons. But I'd love to hear your input on them, nothing's set. Though, I'm pretty sure the entire Lion Turtle team will end up paired with women. Now, on to the story.

One last thing, the Narrator for this book of my story is Zaheer, NOT Tenzin.

Book One: Korra

Prologue

 _Earth_

 _Water_

 _Air_

 _Fire_

 _Ten thousand years ago, humans lived on the backs of lion turtles, afraid to venture out into the Spirit-infested wilderness, except in the rare instances when the lion turtles would grant them the power of the elements so they could hunt for food._

 _For a long time, this was the way the world worked, few humans even knew of the other lion turtles and even less of the cities on their backs._

 _Then everything changed... The skies darkened and evil spirits rampaged throughout the land, even invading the lion turtle's cities._

 _Before long, the cause of the darkness made itself known, the dark spirit Vaatu soared across the land, proclaiming his power and foretelling the doom of the light spirit Raava, and with her, mankind._

 _On the back of an earth lion turtle, a young vagabond teenage boy watched as his world fell to chaos in the mass panic. The boy left to learn what little he could of spirits from the village elder, hoping to find a way to correct the obvious imbalance in the world. They told him the legend of a powerful spirit that lived atop a mountain several days travel from their city. The spirit's name was Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, also known as the Great Victorious Fighting Buddha, rumored to be even more powerful than the spirits of light and darkness._

 _The boy went to the lion turtle to gain the power of earth before setting off on foot for the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, hoping to set things right with the Monkey King's help._

 _This is his story, the story of the Red Lotus' original founder...as well as its Avatar._

 _My name is Zaheer, and before I tell you about the Red Avatar. I must tell you about myself, I joined the Red Lotus as a young man, what seems like ages ago..._

 _My mentor, Xai Bau, told me that one day, a new Avatar would appear to the Red Lotus, and that it would be my responsibility to teach him our ways and the basics of airbending, even though it wold be decades longer before I achieved the power myself. Thus I began my own Air Nomad education studying the teachings of the great guru Laghima, the only Air Nomad to achieve flight. Many years passed before I met my eventual pupil. We began training the young man in the ways of the Red Lotus and the bending arts. We, meaning Unalaq, Ming-Hua, Ghazan, myself, and my beloved P'Li. Unfortunately, his education came to an early haltt when Ghazan, P'Li, Ming-Hua,and myself were imprisoned in a failed attempt to kidnap the White Avatar, Korra._

 _It would be many years until I saw my young pupil again, and after a brief but bloody confrontation with him and the White Avatar, I was the only one of his teachers left alive, albeit imprisoned forever._

 _I have been confined to this prison now for many years. I feel my body failing and my spirit yearning to be free of my body. But true to the creed of my order, "The pursuit of knowledge above all else" I feel compelled to document the unadulterated truth for future generations. I do so in the hopes that someone in the future, whether it be the Red Avatar's future incarnations or some future scholar, can benefit from the story of my greatest failure. I hope whoever reads this will remember me not as an anarchist or terrorist, but simply as the misguided man I was..._

Author's Note: Alrighty, here it is. I have the next chapter written up already but I can't post it until I complete my oldest open story. But fret not, I will jump wholeheartedly into this story after I finish that one. I should be updating this by May. Feel free to PM me with questions. This is the 19th Angel signing off...


	2. Chapter 2

A Tale of Red and White

I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. I own only Kanto(Not Lin's dad), Yangchen(Not the past Avatar's incarnation), Tao Te Ching and Krishna Lee. All other OC's belong to their creators.

Book One: Korra

Chapter One: Welcome to Republic City, Avatar Korra

 _Earth_

 _Water_

 _Air_

 _Fire_

 _Ten thousand years ago, humans lived on the backs of lion turtles, afraid to venture out into the Spirit-infested wilderness, except in the rare instances when the lion turtles would grant them the power of the elements so they could hunt for food._

 _For a long time, this was the way the world worked, few humans even knew of the other lion turtles and even less of the cities on their backs._

 _Then everything changed... The skies darkened and evil spirits rampaged throughout the land, even invading the lion turtle's cities._

 _Before long, the cause of the darkness made itself known, the dark spirit Vaatu soared across the land, proclaiming his power and foretelling the doom of the light spirit Raava, and with her, mankind._

 _On the back of an earth lion turtle, a young vagabond teenage boy watched as his world fell to chaos in the mass panic. The boy left to learn what little he could of spirits from the village elder, hoping to find a way to correct the obvious imbalance in the world. They told him the legend of a powerful spirit that lived atop a mountain several days travel from their city. The spirit's name was Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, also known as the Great Victorious Fighting Buddha, rumored to be even more powerful than the spirits of light and darkness._

 _The boy went to the lion turtle to gain the power of earth before setting off on foot for the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, hoping to set things right with the Monkey King's help._

 _This is his story, the story of the Red Lotus' original founder...as well as its Avatar._

 _Deep in the Spirit World, Spring 100 AG..._

In the center of the Spirit World sat the old, gnarled Tree of Time. In the once empty hollow in the tree sat the Dark Spirit, Vaatu, sealed there 9929 years ago by the first White Avatar, Wan.

Underneath the tree there sat an elderly man, his once-brown hair and waist-length beard now white with age, as he sat with his legs crossed in the lotus meditation position. He was garbed only in a simple white loincloth, despite his obvious age he had an almost-anorexically thin physique, his limbs bulged with wiry, corded muscles that resembled steel cables when he flexed them. Upon his crossed legs there sat a black, iron staff, each of its ends capped by a gold hoop. The man sat in serene meditation, for a brief moment, completely in tune with the spiritual energies of the cosmos, his only food for the last 9900 years. He was distracted from his meditation by the rumbling voice of Vaatu,

"You cannot stop the inevitable, old man. I will be free during the next Harmonic Convergence, and then I will wipe you and your precious beloved from the world forever." the dark spirit said from his prison. The old man paid him no mind, Vaatu would never dissuade him, nor he Vaatu.

"When I am free, I will punish you for eternity. The torture I visit on you will make you beg for oblivi-"

"Silence!" The old man croaked, his voice hoarse from disuse, as he hopped to his feet, remarkably more spry than his age would suggest.

The old man sat up, his body tense as a spring as he manipulated the energy within himself to extend his senses, as he searched to confirm the feeling of ice-cold fear that had pierced his meditation like a spear. After several seconds of stillness, his body untensed as his shoulders slumped in grief.

Yes, it was true... Wan, or at least his current incarnation, was truly dead, now there would be no more Avatars. His best friend was gone, and his grave work had begun...

"Well Vaatu, you're half-correct. Wan has died while in the Avatar state. We will have to see about the rest. The portals may be destroyed by the next Harmonic Convergence."

He decided to waste no time as he closed his eyes as he reached deep within himself as his eyes burst open, now shining with deep, golden light as a matching colored tail sprouted from his posterior as he inhaled and brought his arms above his head and widened his stance. There was a mighty whoosh as a golden fog rolled in before shrinking down to a dog-sized cloud before raising itself and the old man off the ground as he summoned his staff to his hand before catching it with a _BONG!_

"Fly Kinto-un, we have much to do and little time with which to do it. First, take me to Koh, the Face Stealer." The Cloud whistled hauntingly before turning and taking off for Koh's lair, nothing more than a gold streak across the sky.

 _North Pole Spirit portal, 100 AG..._

The old man entered the human world from the spirit portal, now dressed in a green robe with a blue sash, orange hood, and red leather satchel that were all severely cracked from age. He floated down from the sky, gently landing on the snow with a crunch before turning and placing a hand back on the portal, closing it with a thought before exiting his Avatar State, he was not a young man anymore, he could not be as careless with Sun Wukong's power as he was in his youth.

"Oh my god, sir! Are you alright? What's going on?" a young man in blue robes with white cuffs and a white mantle asked as he stumbled up the snowy embankment before stopping a few feet from the elderly visitor.

"I'm fine, and my name is unimportant. Tell me boy, how long has the Avatar been dead?" the man asked as he leaned heavily on his staff as the man replied,

"As far as I know Avatar Aang is alive and well. He sustained a nasty wound at Ba Sing Se, but he's well now, I think."

A frown scuttled across the man's wizened features. No, Aang had died. He was sure, he could always feel Raava and Wan whenever he meditated. But, by some extenuating circumstance, he'd survived. Nevertheless, the pact was still binding. It was his chance to balance the world now. Not that he could return to the Spirit World for some time anyways, his body was too old for repeated trips back and forth.

"You boy, what is your name?" the old man asked, pointing a knobby, bony finger at the young man.

"Xai Bau sir. My name is Xai Bau and I am a member of the Order of the White Lotus."

Come with me boy, we have much to discuss." the geezer asked as he erected an igloo with a flick of his wrist as he made his way inside to light a fire...

 _Republic City Pro-Bending Arena 170 AG..._

"Let go your earthly tethers... Enter the void, empty, and become wind." The young Pro-Bender intoned as he tried to distance himself from the roar of the of the crowd just outside their box. He inhaled slowly through his nose before exhaling slowly and deliberately through his mouth as he tried to quiet his mind and center himself.

His meditation was interrupted by a quick, forceful punch to his shoulder from their earthbending member and team captain, Krishna Lee. Krishna was the daughter of a formerly Fire Nation acrobat/Kyoshi warrior and her father was an earthbender from a minor coal mining town in the south. She was dressed in their typical black and neon blue-padded jumpsuits over her small, lithe form. Krishna resembled her mother down to a T, down to her long, braided brown hair held by a jade ring at the end. The only thing that let anyone tell them apart was that she had her father's tan skin.(may the both rest in peace)

"C'mon Tao, we've got a match to play and unfortunately they won't let Nekane and I play by ourselves." Krishna said as Tao pushed himself to his feet.

"C'mon bro, get the lead out of your ass." His sister, a typical Northern Water Tribe girl in every sense of the word(complete with wolf tail hairstyle), called from the extendable bridge to the arena as he put his helmet on,

"Yes dear, whatever you say dear." Tao replied with as he clenched his fists in anticipation causing a small flash of his trademark blue fire to flash into existence before flickering out as he waited at the bridge as Shiro Shinobi came over the loudspeaker,

"And now the Ember Island Eel Hound's opponents for tonight: the new rookie team that has come out of nowhere and risen to fame in the Pro-Bending circuit in just under a year, the Wulong Forest Lion Turtles!" Shiro called as the bridge extended and they walked to meet the opposing team in the center of the ring.

"On the count: 3, 2, 1, Fight!" Shiro finished tersely as Tao ducked low to the ground and spun around before launching a turquoise-colored wave of flame into a clay disk as it exploded into a cloud of dust, blocking everything from view...

 _Southern Pole White Lotus compound, a few hours later..._

Korra leaped forward without hesitation, headfirst into the incoming fireblast before dissipating it harmlessly with a twirl of her arms as she ran towards her nearest opponent for her Firebending Mastery test.

She wasted no time after landing before launching two quick fireballs at the safety gear covered opponent leaped to get a shot at her from above. Before he got his chance though, Korra rolled forward before kicking him hard in the shin. The kick threw off the young man's balance and sent him tumbling to the mat with a thump.

Katara watched the fight with pride, a beaming smile on her face as she commented,

"She's strong." She remarked as the Grandmaster of the Order, and old bald man with an enormous bead in White Lotus robes, harrumphed,

"She lacks restraint." he commented as Korra sent one of her opponents crashing to the ground as she somersaulted off his shoulder with a wolfish grin before following it up with an overhead midair kick and ending the fight with a double flame blast. The twin fireballs hit him hard in the chest sending him crashing hard into the railing before coming to a stop draped over the rope barrier around the ring, his clothes still smoking slightly.

Korra turned to see the man she had swatted from the air had gotten and had turned to charge her. With a smirk on her face, she turned and launched a double-handed flame stream at the last combatant, sending him flying over the ropes onto the roof of the gazebo behind the arena with a loud crash, ending the match.

"Woo-hoo! Alright!" Korra cheered as she ran over to her teachers, her fist pumping the air excitedly. Her cheers wavered when she got to the viewing booth and caught sight of the stern expressions on all but Katara's face.

"What's with all the doom and gloom guys? We should be celebrating. Three elements down, one to go!" Korra yelled giddily, hardly able to contain her excitement at the opportunity to master the last element in the cycle. The elderly man in the Fire Nation robes in the middle of Katara and the White Lotus Grandmaster cocked an eyebrow at her before replying,

"You're getting ahead of yourself as usual, Korra." he chimed in before the Grandmaster chimed in,

"We still haven't decided if you passed your Firebending test. Ever since you were a little girl you've excelled at the physical side of bending but completely ignored the spiritual side." he finished harshly as Korra looked away sheepishly as she rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

"I haven't ignored it, it just doesn't come as easily to me." Korra replied, it was true though. She never could figure out how to do any of that spirity stuff Tenzin was always going on about.

"Besides, that's why I should start my training with Tenzin as soon as possible, he's Mr. Spiritual, right?" Korra asked looking for any way she could to convince them to let her start learning airbending. The Lotus Grandmaster was silent as he turned to Katara before asking,

"Do you believe she's ready, Master Katara?" he asked as he clasped his hands behind his back as he turned to face Katara.

"Yes. If anyone can teach her what she needs to learn, it's Tenzin." Katara replied as she clasped her hands together inside her robe's sleeves.

"Very well, Korra." The Grandmaster began as he turned back to face the young Avatar once more.

"It's time for you to begin your airbending training." he finished as Korra punched her helmet into the air as she spun in a circle.

"Yes! Finally!" Korra exclaimed with glee before she caught the several raised eyebrows her teaches flashed her and regained her composure.

"Ahem... I mean, thank you for believing in me." She said before bowing politely and turning to go find Naga, as she giggled nervously.

She ran down the nearby stairs to the stable where they kept Naga, her polar bear dog, and best friend since the age of six. The massive white dog lifted it canine-like head up and turned towards the source of the approaching noise, before jumping up to greet its owner.

"Naga, you should've seen it. I kicked some firebender butt, and I passed!" Korra said as she wrapped her arms around Naga's neck in a massive hug before retrieving her saddle from a nearby pole and mounting on Naga before making for the main gate so Naga could get some exercise...

 _A few days later..._

Korra ran out of the compound she called home as she caught sight of Oogi flying gracefully towards the compound across the ocean from the window of her bedroom. She shoved her boots on and grabbed her coat before running out across the snowy land to see Tenzin dismounting the bison's head.

"Hey Tenzin, where's Lin?" Korra asked after coming to a stop, immediately noticing the absence of the airbending master's wife. Tenzin quickly finished helping the young girl down from atop the bison, as he apprehensively turned to face Korra,

"Lin couldn't come, she's got too much on her plate right now to leave the city. Besides... we're only visiting for tonight. The situation in the city is too unstable for one of its leaders to leave right now." Tenzin apologized regretfully as his oldest child, Kanto, a young metalbender like his mother hopped from the saddle before landing with a heavy thud on the frozen ground.

Kanto was a boy of about seventeen, almost six feet tall, bulging with rippling muscles like most earthbenders, he had a handsome face with his mother's green eyes and black hair. He was currently dressed in a green shirt and black pants held up by a green belt. He was dressed in the ornamental metal armbands and necklace that were all the rage in Zaofu.

"What? But you're supposed to relocate her to train me in airbending?! How long before you can move here? 'Cuz Tenzin, I gotta tell you I can't stay cooped up in this compound much longer, or I'll go crazy!" Korra exclaimed desperately as she clenched her fists anxiously.

"Korra it isn't his fault,the city is going through a very hard time right now. Especially with the Anti-Bending movement causing so much trouble everywhere." His youngest child, their daughter Yangchen, spoke up. Yangchen was a young girl of about fourteen, she had brown hair like her father's she wore it chin-length with a bun slightly to the left side of her hair. Yangchen was an airbender like her namesake, and showed a keen mind for spiritual matters in the past.

"Why don't you all just come inside for dinner and we can talk about this?" Katara interjected, trying to prevent anyone losing their temper.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, mother." Tenzin agreed, he really was sincerely sorry that he had to push back her training.

"Fine." Korra sighed, "Besides, I could eat." she begrudgingly admitted as she turned to head back inside the compound...

 _Later that night, in Korra's bedroom..._

Korra landed on her mattress with a thump and probably her thirtieth exasperated sigh in the past hour. It wasn't fair, Tenzin wasn't coming to train her for who knows how long, and that stuffy Lotus Grandmaster said she couldn't go to him. How was she supposed to be the Avatar all cooped up in the compound her entire life? Besides she had mastered the other three elements, she could handle herself.

Yeah, she **could** handle herself... Besides, if she showed up on Air Temple Island, he'd have to train her. An enormous grin split her face as she sat up and ran to grab her bag and ran to start packing.

Korra packed herself some food for the road and a few changes of clothes before making for the stables where Naga slept. Naga's ears perked up as her owner approached. Korra peaked around the doorway before sneaking forward to give Naga a hug around her trunk-like neck.

"C'mon girl, we're busting outta here." Korra said as she ran over and grabbed her saddle from the post before moving to mount it on the polar bear dog. She stopped dead in her tracks as terror seized her mind as she heard a voice ask,

"Nice night for an escape isn't it?"

Korra whipped around at the familiar voice to turn to face the waterbending master, standing behind the young Avatar, a gentle, accepting smile on her face. Korra glanced away sheepishly as she replied,

"I'm sorry Katara. But I have to leave." Korra pleaded to her mentor and friend. "I have to find my own path as the Avatar."

"I know you do." She said, shocking the young woman more than a little bit. "Aang's time has passed. My brother and many of my friends are gone. It's time for you and your generation to take on the responsibility of keeping peace and balance in the world." She said before walking over and placing a hand on Korra's shoulder.

"But I think you're going to be a great Avatar." Katara finished with a smile.

"Thank you Katara." Korra said gratefully before wrapping her waterbending mentor in hug before returning to fastening Naga's saddle before leaving to go say goodbye to her parents...

 _Several days later, Republic City Pier..._

Korra woke inside the hold of the cargo ship to the sound of dock workers preparing to unload the cargo from the ship. She pushed herself off of Naga's side and stood up before turning to either side to stretch her knotted muscles before shaking the polar bear dog awake.

"C'mon Naga, we're here. Let's not keep the city waiting." she said as Naga woke and scratched herself a few times before climbing to her feet as Korra vaulted onto her saddle.

"C'mon girl, let's go!" Korra said as she dug her heels into Naga's sides as the polar bear dog took off for the open ramp, almost pancaking an unfortunate worker who was carrying a heavy crate down the ramp.

Naga barreled down the walk way and down several streets, almost causing several car accidents on the way before making her way over to a sidewalk overlooking the waterfront next to Air Temple Island.

"There it is, girl. Air Temple Island, that's where Tenzin lives. You ready for a little swim, girl?" Korra asked when Naga sniffed around before quickly darting of to the left.

"Alrighty food first, then Air Temple." Korra said as Naga barreled down another busy avenue, narrowly avoiding crashing into several Satomobiles, however several of the other drivers were not so lucky, more than a few of them crashed into one another before Naga rounded a corner before pushing her head through the curtain in front of a meat vendor's stall. Naga began to visibly drool at the sight of all the delicious food for sale in the stall, two seconds before she could take a bite Korra spoke up,

"Naga, wait." Korra said as she hopped off the saddle and circled around so she could address the middle-aged woman in the yellow dress who ran the stall.

"We'll take one of everything." Korra said as she picked up a meat kabob to look it over.

"That'll be twenty yuans." the woman said in a nasal, fairly grating voice. Korra patted herself down before realizing she had no money.

"I actually don't have any money." Korra confessed sheepishly as she flashed the stall owner a guilty grin.

"Then what good are you to me?!" the woman snapped angrily as she snatched the kabob out of Korra's hand swiftly.

"It's fine Koko, I got this one." A voice said from behind her as she saw someone hand the shop keep a twenty yuan note.

She turned to see the arm belonged to a young man who was out with a young woman. They both looked to be about her age.

The woman was very curvy and just a few inches shorter than her with long brown hair held in a braid the end of which had a green ring of solid jade holding it in place. She was dressed in a hip-length sleeveless green shirt over a pair of khaki pants with brown calf-length boots and decorative metal bracers on her wrists. She had tan skin typical to many Earth Kingdom citizens. Korra saw from her muscular build and the way she held herself and immediately knew this girl had at least some sort of serious earthbending training.

Her companion was a young man a few inches taller than herself, immediately recognizable as a Water Tribe citizen from his dark skin. If she had to guess, she'd have to say he was from the Northern Tribe. He had handsome, youthful features and short, dark brown hair and a simple metal circular metal earring in one ear. He was dressed in ice-blue a top reminiscent of Southern Water Tribe armor that covered from his shoulders to the top of his abdomen that laced up in the front, showing more cleavage than she thought was strictly necessary and left his not-unimpressive abdominal muscles exposed. The top was fur lined at the edges of the shoulders which also sported two shoulder pads that were each a little bigger than her hand and were also fur-lined at the edges. His forearms were covered by long, black, leather fingerless gloves that were laced up along the inside of his arms, extending midway up his biceps. He wore a simple pair of brown leather pants over a pair of plain brown boots over his legs.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Tao?" the woman asked uncertainly as she shot the man a questioning look. Korra quickly suppressed a scowl at the remark. What was this chick's problem? She was just trying to feed her dog, she wasn't trying to buy a house or anything.

"Krishna dear, it's just twenty yuans. We can spare that, especially after the payout for winning last night's match. We've also got plenty of money to cover the entrance fee for the Championship Tournament." Tao finished as he slid the note to the shop keep, who set about wrapping up Korra's order to go, before making his way over to the polar bear dog with her head still poked through the front curtain.

"Besides... Who could say no to this face?" Tao asked as he reached out and scratched Naga behind the ears. Within seconds, Naga was belly-up on the ground as Tao went to town scratching her belly.

"Well, thanks a load. I really appreciate the help, guess I got to the city without thinking about how I was gonna pay for anything. I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can. What's your name again?" Korra chimed in, supremely grateful for the gesture.

"My name's Tao, Tao Te Ching. This lovely lady is my girlfriend slash team captain, Krishna Lee. And who might you be?" Tao said as he took a break from petting Naga.

"I'm Korra. This is Naga." Korra said as she gestured to the polar bear dog now rolling around on some nearby grass.

"So, I hate to bother you again. But do you know how to get to Air Temple Island from here?" Korra asked, having realized she had no idea how to get to Tenzin's home either.

"We were just headed there. Wanna come with us? We just have to pick our waterbending member on the way. That sound good?" Krishna asked as she stepped forward, apparently having had a change of heart about the young woman. Korra stopped midway through taking the bag of meat from Koko as her brain put together the various clues before snatching the bag of meat away before whirling around excitedly,

"Wait! Are you guys Pro-Benders?" Korra gushed excitedly. She'd been in the city less than an hour and she may have already met a Pro-Bending team? This was by far the one of the best days of her life already, right after finding out she was the Avatar.

"Yeah, we're the Wulong Forest Lion Turtles." Krishna proclaimed proudly as she placed her fist on her hip. Krishna may not have loved people but she loved to talk about Pro-Bending, especially her own team.

"Oh wow! I love you guys! You guys are my favorite team after the Fire Ferrets! Is it true you guys all know how to chi block?" Korra asked, still gushing like a fangirl, there were so much random gossip about the rookie team's members, that they got questions like this all the time.

"Yeah, Krishna's mom practically invented the stuff back in the Hundred Year War." Tao replied with a half-grin as Krishna beamed proudly.

"Can you really metalbend, Krishna?" Korra asked enthusiastically as she clenched her fists to get rid of her nervous energy.

"Yep, I can sandbend too." Krishna said, her voice still filled with pride.

"Wow. What's your record again?"

"Fifteen wins, three losses. All our wins have been knockouts though." Tao answered. "So, you wanna come to Air Temple Island with us?"

"Yeah sure! But what are you guys heading up there to do?" Korra asked, a tad bewildered as to why a Pro-Bending team was headed to a place that taught about the one element not in the sport.

"We find the evasive nature of the stances taught in airbending particularly useful for dodging attacks in the ring. It really helps give us a leg up on the other teams. Can't knock us back if they can't hit us." Tao finished informatively.

"Wow okay, let's get going then." Korra said as they set off to find a place for Naga to eat...

 _Half an hour later..._

"Wow. It's so weird to hear you two are related. What with you being a firebender and you a waterbender." Korra wondered aloud as she looked from Nekane to Tao.

"Yeah, everyone says that. But daddy was a waterbender and mom was a firebender. So, here we are." Nekane replied with a shrug. They had picked Tao's sister up ten minutes ago and were on their way through Republic City Park. They were walking down a sidewalk past a grassy hill separated from another close hill by a small river with a bridge from one side to the other. It was a beautiful scene, albeit slightly ruined with the knowledge that it housed dozens of vagabonds. Korra opened her mouth to speak when a voice rang out.

"Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists! For too long, the bending elite of this city have forced non-benders to live as lower class citizens! Join Amon and together we will tear down the bending establishment!"

The group looked around to see the source of the voice was a scrawny bearded man in a yellow robe atop a soapbox waving a megaphone around. The Lion Turtles sighed collectively as they recognized the familiar sight of an Equalist propaganda booth. Korra, however had never seen one of the street preachers, who were masters of turning the crowd against any who spoke against them. This became quite clear as Korra spoke up,

"What are you talking about? Bending is the coolest thing in the world!" Korra exclaimed, causing Krishna and Tao to facepalm themselves in embarrassment. The scrawny man took one look at the Avatar in her Water Tribe getup atop Naga and replied,

"Oh yeah? Lemme guess, you're a bender." he replied condescendingly as he pointed at her as he gesticulated childishly.

"Uh, yeah I am." Korra said as she crossed her arms confidently.

"Korra, don't." Nekane whispered as she tugged on the hem of Korra's pants.

"And you'd probably just love to knock me off of this box with some waterbending, huh?"

"I'm seriously thinking about it." Korra replied daringly as she leaned towards the man.

"See! Benders like her only use their power to oppress us!" the preacher wailed before Tao stepped forward.

"That's not fair! You know absolutely nothing about her! Korra is a brave young woman! I hardly

believe she would use her bending for anything like oppression." Tao said, his voice calm and even.

"What's more, bending is something people spend their whole lives mastering. That's countless hours they could be doing something else! Besides you have no idea how hard it is to get by even as a bender. What do you do? Because my only two options are Pro-Bending or power plant work, both of which are extremely dangerous work."

"Well I-I..." the protester stuttered before Tao continued,

"Besides without bending how would we power the city without firebenders to use lightning to supply the power?"

"I... I never thought about that." the protester mumbled sheepishly.

"Also, some of the richest men in the city are non-benders, look at Hiroshi Sato or Cabbage Corp. Now, if there's nothing else, I think we'll be on our way." Tao said as he walked off before Korra and the other followed suit.

"Wow, that was kinda awesome." Korra replied, thankful that she was getting away from the protester.

"We've dealt with their ilk before. You just need to know their game and use it against them." Nekane replied.

"Yeah, unfortunately for you, they're everywhere in this city." Krishna added as they made for the ferry.

 _One hour later, on Air Temple Island..._

"Also, if you don't mind me asking, what's your poison? I'm guessing earthbender from your interest in my metalbending." Krishna asked before Tao replied,

"Nah, brave girl like her, I'm guessing firebender."

"You're both wrong. Look at her getup! She's a waterbender." Nekane exclaimed. Korra chuckled before replying,

"Actually, you're all right. I'm a waterbender, and an earthbender, and a firebender." Korra replied coolly. The group was silent for a bit as the Lion Turtles shared puzzled look when Nekane gasped,

"You're the Avatar? That's so cool!"

"Nice." Krishna replied casually. Tao's reply died in his throat as a loud "Ahem." rang out across the Air Temple Garden.

Tao turned to see a woman in her early fifties in the uniform of the metalbending police force. She had strong features and a nasty set of two ragged scars on the right side of her chin. She head neck-length black hair streaked with gray and her face was set in a hard scowl.

"Mr. and Ms. Te Ching, and Ms. Lee... My department received several anonymous tips regarding Triad and Equalist operations, but when my officers got there, the supposed fugitives were already bound and waiting for them. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Lin Beifong asked suspiciously as Tao answered,

"C'mon Chief, we're just Pro-Benders. We're not superheroes, we couldn't fight crime. But this girl kinda is a superhero. Look, it's the Avatar!" Tao answered innocently as he flashed his best smile and pointed to Korra, causing Lin's scowl to deepen. Korra was about to ask what they were talking about when both Krishna and Nekane grabbed a hold of her boots and silently shook their heads at her. Korra took the hint and decide to inquire about it later.

"I know all about Korra, Mr. Te Ching. Unfortunately I'll have to deal with you later. Right now, Korra and I have business with my husband." Lin finished sourly.

"Of course, we'll just be out in the training area. Nice meeting you Korra." Tao said as the Lion Turtles took off across the garden towards the training area.

"You'd better not screw up our deal with the White Lotus, bro. We really need the help if we wanna beat the Wolf-Bats."

"I won't, sis. I know how to handle this... and crap, we need Tenzin to airbend these... But, that's probably not a good idea." Tao said after pondering the current situation inside the temple.

"Well, what are we gonna do then? Seems kinda wasteful to go home now, honey." Krishna asked as Tao made sure they were alone, before...

"I got this." Tao said as he inhaled slowly through his nose before bringing his arms back and circling around before thrusting powerfully forward as a huge gust of wind shot out and hit the gates, sending them spinning quickly in either direction.

"Alrighty, let's do this." Krishna said as she approached the gates.

"Be the leaf." Krishna exhaled as she entered the gate field...

Author's Note: Here it is. Hope you like it. I'm working on the description of the bending movements so hopefully that'll shape up soon. Also, I invite you to ponder the ZhuSami pairing, and the idea of President Amon...

This is the 19th Angel, signing off...


	3. Chapter 3

A Tale of Red and White

Book One: Korra

Chapter 2: Leaves on the vine, falling so slow...

Tao inhaled slowly through his nose as he extended his right leg vertically into the air as he touched his fingers to the tips of his toes as he held the pose before exhaling slowly from his mouth as he shifted into the next yoga pose, wincing slightly as his until-recently dislocated shoulder strained in protest at the movement. He put the pain out of his mind, it wasn't life-threatening and Nekane had always had a knack for the healing arts, he'd probably be pain-free after morning practice later.

It was partially his fault though, he begrudgingly admitted to himself, he shouldn't have let his little feud with Amon's lieutenant get the better of him last night when he and the other Lion Turtles had broken up the Equalists attempt to start a fight at a local Triad hangout. Not that he was against breaking up the local Triad hangout spots, they'd get their own in time, but the Equalist's attack would've just pissed off the Agni Kais and they would've taken it up on the innocent civilians in the area. Come to think of it, at the heart of the issue, he didn't disagree with the Equalists, just their methods he thought as he shifted to the next pose.

Tao continued his yoga routine for the next five minutes in silent contemplation before heading in from the balcony of the fifth-floor walk-up he and Krishna shared in southern Republic City, less than two blocks from the power plant.

It wasn't the quietest neighborhood, but then again that was kinda the point. You couldn't fight the Equalists or Triads up in the streets of Midtown. Besides, despite what the police were saying, they were making a difference in a pretty decent area on the south side. They had pretty much forced out the Agni Kais, and the Triple Threats were on the ropes, the only ones still hanging onto the area were the warring Terra Triad and Red Monsoons.

Tao made his way past their bedroom careful not to disturb Krishna from her sleep. If he didn't deliberately avoid waking her in the morning she'd never get any sleep and run herself into the ground, despite his continued protests.

He made his way into their bedroom as stealthily as he could manage before grabbing his training top from where he'd dropped it after returning from Air Temple Island the previous night before beginning to root around in search of his long gloves. Not that he was particularly attached to them but the intricate brands on the underside of his forearms tended to attract their fair share of questions, more so than the tattoo of the Red Lotus insignia on his left shoulder. He located his gloves a few seconds later and threw them atop the dresser as he fished a spare outfit out of his dresser and tossed it in his gym bag before heading to the bathroom to finish his morning routine.

He flipped the light on in their bathroom before turning on the shower. Tao was amazed that the entire city had running water, Republic City was full of modern marvels like that, it was a big part of why he and her had moved here after finishing his earthbending training in Omashu. After a brief stop in the Foggy Swamp, that is...

Tao finished his shower about ten minutes later before he pulled open the drawer Krishna kept her makeup in as he located the only foundation that matched his skin color as he brushed his hair away from his forehead to reveal the third eye tattoo on his forehead as he grabbed the powder puff and began his least favorite part of his morning routine of covering that tattoo with makeup.

Tao grimaced to himself as he began the delicate process of realistically hiding the tattoo that allowed him to combustionbend. It wasn't that he minded having to use makeup, but it tended to run when started to sweat, which was fairly often. But it was better than all the weird looks the tattoo usually earned him.

Tao finished his make up and began working on breakfast. About half an hour later Krishna made her way into the the dining room,

"Mmm, what smells so good?" she asked with a yawn before taking a seat at the table as Tao moved the last of the dishes to the sink to clean later.

"I made breakfast for you, since we've all been working so hard the last few weeks. I got in touch with that Pro-Bending team from Yu Dao and switched our gym slot for today, we go in right before the Fire Ferrets. So c'mon, dig in. You earned it."

Krishna looked like she was about to protest, but her stomach won out in the end as she sat down to eat...

They headed to the gym for their morning practice where they each practiced techniques drawn from the other bending disciplines, mostly the waterbending principle of turning the enemy's own attack against them. Their unorthodox training styles had given them a considerable edge since their season's start. They had been absolutely horrid back then, since most of them had had pretty strict more traditional teachers they had been sitting turtle-ducks against the other more agile teams. But now they were on of the top-ranked rookie teams in the entire game.

 _Later, after morning practice in the Pro-Bending arena..._

Tao finished pulling his shirt on over his head before he stowed his training gear in his bag before he turned to see Bolin coming down the ladder that led up to the attic. Tao liked Bolin, he was one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet and had a heart bigger than Ba Sing Se's Outer Ring.

"Hey Bolin, how goes it? We still on for lunch later?" Tao asked as he paused on his way out the door as Krishna planted a kiss on his cheek before rushing off to an appointment in downtown.

"Totally man. Same Pai Sho parlor as last time?" Bolin asked as the earthbender dropped to the ground with a thud before turning to face Tao, green eyes twinkling like always.

"You know it. Might be ten minutes late or so. I got some business in the park to take care of first." Tao called back to him.

 _Later that day, Republic City Park..._

"What happened next, Tao?" the vagabond asked in his normal goofy accent as Tao sat cross-legged on the grass across from the man.

"Well Tho, I weighed the options in my mind. My teacher always told me that the White Dragon Lotus bush made the best tea in the world, but if I was wrong it was a lethal potion, and _then..._ " Tao said as he grimaced guiltily and his voice trailed off.

"...No. You didn't." Tho guessed incredulously before Tao's eyes dropped to the ground and he replied,

"I did... and it wasn't. Thankfully I ran into Krishna soon after or I would have expired." Tao said as he sipped the tea he'd brewed on the camp stove. Every couple of day he made sure to swing by and have tea and sandwiches with the first vagabond he found, he enjoyed the conversation that normally followed. His mentor had always said tea with an interesting stranger was one of life's true delights.

"Wow. Ain't that something? Well, thanks for the meal Tao, good to see you again. I'll let you get on your way." the old man said as he hopped into his new home in one of the more well-groomed shrubs in the park before Tao put out the fire under the tea kettle with a wave of his hand. He fished the large cloth square he used to transport his tea set before packing it up and tying it to the top of his staff before throwing it over his shoulder and heading towards the Pai Sho parlor a few blocks away.

He reached the parlor without incident before noticing with a grimace the familiar hot rod that Viper, Shin, and Ping rode around in when they were raising hell. On top of that, it was the middle of the day, he'd be stuck to firebending, his weakest bending type. Today was just not his day he thought as he pushed open the small wooden door into the parlor, brightly lit by sunlight streaming in from two large windows in the store's exterior.

He glanced around the cozy little parlor before spotting Bolin in the corner waiting at the table with a set of Pai Sho pieces tacked to one side. Tao strode over and leaned his staff in the corner before hopping atop one of the wooden four-legged stools.

"Hey man, how's it going? You hear the Avatar's in town?" Bolin asked as Tao scooted forward in his seat and gathered all the pieces he'd need to his side of the table.

"Better than that, I met her yesterday. She's really nice, not stuffy at all. In fact, sounds like she's a bit of a rebel." Tao said as he arranged his pieces in order and placed his white lotus tile in the center of the board. Bolin raised an inquisitive eyebrow before asking.

"Why do you always open with moving your white lotus tile to the center? It doesn't make much sense."

"'Cuz Bolin, many people underestimate the importance of that piece. Knowing the proper strategy with it can save your life if you're clever." Tao said with a slight grin as Bolin clacked his piece down and off they went...

 _Half an hour later..._

"Well, that makes four games to three, your lead. Why don't we just call it a day?" Tao asked with a yawn before narrowing his eyes as he spotted Viper leaning over the counter and leering at Ding, the elderly shopkeep. It didn't look like Ding wanted to be talking to Viper very much though.

"Okay. But Tao, you gotta stop psyching yourself out. Every game we play right after you win, you over think it and make stupid mistakes." Bolin said in a rare moment of sage wisdom.

"Yeah, guess I just freak under pressure when I'm on a roll." Tao said flatly, his mind a million miles away as he took his tea kit off the end of his staff and prepared himself to fight as he inhaled through his notes like his mentor had drilled into him over dozens of hours of breathing exercises before he strode toward the counter doing his best to hide hist staff from view as Bolin watched on in silent fascination, unsure of what Tao had going on in his head.

"Everything alright here, Mr. Ding? Tao asked as he neared the counter, instantly attracting glares from Viper, Ping, and Shin. Ding gulped noticeably as sweat beaded his shiny, bald head. Tao calmly looked between the thugs and the merchant as Ding stammered out,

"N-n-not a problem Tao. Nothing to see here."

"Mr. Ding, would you like me to remove these men from your shop?" Tao asked calmly before Viper hissed,

"You heard him kid, get lost you-" Viper never finished as Tao shoved him against the wall with a jab of his staff.

"Quiet Viper. I asked Mr. Ding a question." Tao said as he coolly looked back to Ding. Ding said nothing before giving an almost imperceptible nod before Ping cut in,

"Hey buddy step off! Before we decide to put the screws to you!" Ping exclaimed in his whiny, nasally voice as he took a step towards Tao before Tao jabbed the iron rod towards Ping, stopping a few centimeters from his nose.

"Ping, your mother would be ashamed of you. Why do you wanna break sweet Oma's heart like that? And Shin, your sis would kick your ass if she knew what you got up to?" Tao said as Viper finished pushing himself to his feet.

"Get this punk!" Viper said as he whipped his hand out from his coat pocket and a stream of water shot towards Tao's head before he ducked low and swept Shin's feet out from him as Ping took as step forward as a fireball formed in front of his fist. Despite his back being turned to the firebending gangster. Because as soon as his foot hit the ground Tao fell the unmistakable slight buzzing at the base of his foot even through his boots. Tao was suddenly struck by a little ping of gratitude that Nekane had wanted to stop at the Foggy Swamp on the way to Republic City, it had been almost as informative as his training in Omashu or Zaofu.

Tao spun his hands as quickly as he could before turning towards Ping as his dissipated the blast harmlessly over his whirling staff before chucking it towards Viper who was already whipping a lash of water towards Tao before the iron staff smacked him in the stomach and the tendril splashed harmlessly against Tao's shirt.

Tao ducked below Ping's arm with so little room to spare, Tao suddenly noticed the acrid tang of burning hair before flattening his left hand and stiffening the fingers before jabbing Ping three times in the arm and down his side, making his arm go as limp as an elbow leech before seizing him round the collar as he threw Ping into Shin midway to his feet and knocking him out the door and the door off its hinges into the street. Viper joined them a few seconds later after Tao sent him flying out the door with an impressive gout of Dragon's Breath.

Viper grit his teeth as he tried to disentangle himself from the pile of furniture and mobsters. Tao grimaced, in no mood to spend an inordinate amount of time beating them into submission, widened his stance and brought an arm in, pointing out with two fingers and clearing his mind as he extended the arm as lightning arced from his fingertips as he began to mirror the movement with his other arm before he extended an arm and a bolt of blue lightning shot out and hit the ground two feet from the pile of mobsters.

"Just walk away boys, go home and think about a different career or I won't miss next time." Tao said as smoke rose from his fingertips. Viper grit his teeth and stumbled to his feet as he shot Tao a glare that told Tao this was far from over before the rest got to their feet and walked away glaring daggers at Tao.

"Here you go Ding, this should cover the damages." Tao said as he threw down a wad of bill and headed for Air Temple Island...

 _Later that evening, Air Temple Island's meditation garden..._

Tao sat in the lotus meditation pose on the ground as he tried to focus on his breathing and let his mind be clear of earthly tethers. Tao had never been too good at meditation but that was why he practiced. Master Unalaq had been especially harsh from what little he could remember. He said Tao had no patience, and looking back he was right. But that had been when he was just a little kid, he liked to think he'd gotten much better at controlling himself. Tao was startled from his reflection by the sound of something bursting into flame. Tao stood and followed a nearby path towards the sound of the disturbance, someone was doing some serious pacing...

Tao rounded the corner to see Avatar Korra lying sullenly against her massive polar bear dog with her arms crossed and a scowl set on her face; and a pile of ash lying where Tao could've sworn there should be a clothesline.

"Something wrong Avatar?" Tao asked, more than a little unsure of his ability to help with the real Avatar's problems. Korra looked up before her eyes widened like she'd just been smacked with a fish.

"Umm, why are you shirtless?" she asked, somewhere between shock and disgust. Tao looked down and realized he was in fact shirtless, in front of the Avatar no less.

"Um, I was meditating and I meditate shirtless. It's this technique where you pretend the wind on your...skin is... carrying away your worries... and um, attachments." Tao finished with a cough as he realized that meditation techniques weren't her cup of tea.

"Um okay. Nice ink, though." Korra said as she pointed to the Red Lotus on his shoulder. Tao shifted uncomfortably as he mumbled a reply,

"Yeah, it's a sign of completing my training under my teacher." Tao said, not totally fibbing. "But enough about me. What's got the Avatar down?" Tao asked as he took a seat on the ground cross-legged.

"It's Tenzin. He's not letting me do anything fun, I can't even listen to a Pro-Bending game on the radio. He says it's drivel." Korra huffed as she hugged her knees to her chest anxiously.

"That's odd coming from an Air Nomad. New bending styles are always a good thing to study, the best bending masters in the world are so great because they draw their styles from multiple schools and sources. Just look at Toph and Katara, their unique styles of bending saved the world! Saying Pro-Bendingis drivel is like saying the same thing about metalbending." Tao replied in mild outrage.

"Right? Air is the element of freedom and he won't even let me leave the island." she huffed frustratedly as she blew a strand of hair from her face. Tao was silent as he put a hand to his chin thoughtfully before he replied,

"You know, I'm no expert but I remember reading that Monk Gyatso on several occasions said it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.(AN: I don't know if he actually said that but it seems like he's the kind of guy who'd say that.)"

"What are you getting at?" Korra replied, though she was pretty sure she knew.

"I'm saying that if you happened to sneak out of here and into the Arena and find Toza the gym manager and told him I'd invited you, he'd let you watch our match in our box and maybe meet some other teams. What Tenzin doesn't know wouldn't hurt him." Tao finished as he watched Korra process the info as he left to go get his shirt and headed to the Arena to prepare for his match.

"Thanks for the talk." Korra called after him.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't." Tao called back

 _Two hours later, in the Pro-Bending Arena..._

"Thanks so much for the help Toza. I've never seen a match before." Korra gushed excitedly, the young Avatar was as giddy as a schoolgirl as the wizened old earthbender led her down the hallway to the box entrance.

"Well any friend of the Lion Turtles is a friend of mine. They're the only team that actually cleans up after themselves. Here you go Avatar." Toza said as he opened the door into the small rectangular room that housed lockers against one wall with a bench in the middle behind a railing that looked out onto a breathtaking view of the Arena. Korra arrived just in time to see Tao, Krishna, and Nekane in their black and neon blue gear across from a team in faded green gear. Korra ran over to the railing before she leaned over the railing as she put her hands in a cone to her mouth,

"Woo! Go Lion Turtles!" she shouted out to the team below. Tao looked up to see Korra had actually showed up. She had actually followed his advice... Tao was so distracted by the moment of flattery than he was left wide open for the earth disk to nail him right in the chest and send him tumbling to Zone 2 as the buzzer sounded as he rolled to his feet.

"Now that's just rude!" Tao exclaimed as he sent a bolt of blue fire towards the open waterbender on the opposite team sending her spinning like a top before Nekane's shot tumbling back. Tao cracked his neck as he smiled as he leaped into action...

 _To be continued..._


End file.
